Spencer Lee on Olympics: ‘It would be wrong to say that I’m not representing Iowa’
Wrestler Spencer Lee meets with media ahead of his upcoming appearance in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
After years of hype and accomplishments, former Iowa Hawkeye wrestler Spencer Lee is close to achieving the highest of highs.
Lee has done it all. Cadet and Junior world titles, NCAA titles and more. However, as one of the biggest wrestling prospects in the nation throughout his career, Olympic gold has always been the goal for Lee.
Now, he’s one step away from winning it, going 3-0 Thursday to reach Friday’s gold medal match at 57 kilograms for Team USA. He outscored his opponents 29-8 to set himself up for a match with Rei Higuchi from Japan. Higuchi is a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, a 2022 World champion and a 2022 World silver medalist. Higuchi steamrolled his way to the final as well, outscoring his opponents 27-2 with a pair of technical falls.
“I know he’s (Higuchi) really excited for one more as well,” Lee told reporters in Paris on Thursday. “I know he doesn’t want silver, but I don’t want silver either. We’re gonna go out there and do our best to put on a show.”
Lee, along with five other Team USA members, will compete on Friday. Lee’s match has an approximate start time of 12:30 p.m. CT, but the session begins at 11:15 a.m. CT and freestyle tends to run fast. Tune into Peacock by noon CT and you’re sure to not miss it.
If you can’t follow along live or want some additional analysis, keep tabs here with our live blog.
Who is Spencer Lee?
Lee is representing Team USA in France, the home country of his mother, Cathy Lee. After sustaining injuries during the latter part of his historic collegiate career that included three NCAA titles and two Dan Hodge Trophies (college wrestling’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy), Lee has returned better than ever by sweeping Senior Nationals, the Pan-American Championships, the US Olympic Trials and the Last Chance Olympic qualifier to get here.
It took a lot of hard work in the wrestling room, the rehab for his torn ACLs and a sabbatical in Japan to get ready, but Lee is here to realize a childhood dream and live out the dreams his parents once had as Olympic hopefuls themselves.
Who is Aaron Brooks?
This should be a familiar one for college wrestling fans as the NCAA’s most recent four-time champion with Penn State. He defeated USA wrestling great and now-Oklahoma State wrestling coach David Taylor twice at the US Olympic Trials to get here and is now considered a top contender for a medal at 86 kilograms in freestyle.
He’ll compete for bronze Friday.
Who is Helen Maroulis?
If you watched the previous two Olympics, you know darn well who Maroulis is.
She was Team USA’s first female to win Olympic gold and also won bronze in Tokyo. She also has three world titles to her name. The 32-year-old Maryland native is the No. 5 seed.
She’ll wrestle for bronze looking to add to her Olympic trophy case (gold medal and bronze medal) Friday morning.
Who is Kyle Dake?
Dake is one of the best wrestlers in the United States at the moment as a four-time world champion and a 2020 Olympic bronze medalist. The former Cornell wrestler, where he won four NCAA titles, is Team USA’s representative at 74 kilograms.
Seeded at No. 1, Dake will have Venezuela’s Anthony Chirinos first. Chirinos has competed in two senior World Championships but has never placed higher than 25th. If Dake wins, he could face Italy’s Frank Chamizo, Iran’s RI Yones Aliakbar Emamichoghaei or Guinea Bissau’s Bacar Ndum. Chamizo is a two-time Olympian (bronze in 2016) and a two-time World champion. Emamichoghaei is a two-time World bronze medalist, while Ndum is a bit more unknown.
Who is Mason Parris?
Parris, a two-time NCAA champion for the University of Michigan, is fresh off a World bronze medal in 2023 and is looking for more in Paris.
It’ll be tough right from the beginning, facing Turkey’s Taha Akgul, an Olympic gold medalist in 2016 and bronze medalist in 2020. Oh, and that’s in addition to his three World championships.
He’s got a tough road, but proved in 2023 that he’s capable of wrestling on the big stage.
Who is Kayla Miracle?
Miracle is back for her second Olympic games after taking 12th in Tokyo. The three-time World silver medalist is 28 years old and a native of Bloomington, Indiana. She and Sarah Hildebrandt, who just won gold earlier this week, are both Indiana natives.
As Team USA’s representative at 62 kilograms, she is the No. 8 seed. If she can beat 22-year-old Nesrin Bas of Turkey, a two-time U23 World champion, she’ll likely draw No. 1 seeded Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan. Tynybekova is a three-time Olympian, taking silver in Tokyo. She’s won three World championships.
If Miracle gets to that match, she will need some magic to pull an upset.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
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Publish date : 2024-08-08 21:07:00
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